Struggles After The War
by TimmyD24
Summary: After the war with Gaea. Heroes of Olympus AU.


I **do not own Percy Jackson. All characters belong to Rick Riordan.**

 **Piper POV**

It was suppose to be a simple rescue mission.

Chiron had called her and Percy to the Big House In order to inform them that they had discovered two more demigods over in New Jersey. A brother and sister around the age of twelve, and if Piper were to guess she'd say they were Hermes kids. Both had elfish like features with black hair and blue eyes, and a smile that screamed troublemaker. They had been living together in a foster home ever since they're mom had died in a car accident when they were seven.

Percy, since he just got his license three weeks prior, decided to drive the camp van over to the middle school the kids were attending. They were exchanging their normal banter when they pulled up a block away from the school. Piper frowned in confusion as Percy put the car in park.

"So, do you know how we're suppose to convince two twelve year olds to come with us to Long Island, in a white van, and live in an unseen camp full of kids who's parents are Greek gods?" At her question Percy seemed to stop in confusion before shrugging to himself.

"You have any candy on you?"

Piper punched him in the arm.

Percy rubbed his shoulder. "Well maybe some monsters will attack. Then they'll have no choice but to believe us."

His response earned him another punch.

"I'm getting real sick of you hitting me," Percy said with a glare. "We'll just wing it. I'm usually pretty good at that."

After that Piper let her mind wander, and eventually It landed on her boyfriend, Jason. It'd been two weeks since he, along with Annabeth, had traveled to Camp Jupiter. They were still busy designing statues and whatnot for the minor gods and goddesses, and he needed help with a major project. He went to Annabeth, figuring that she would be the best person to ask on something like this. The daughter of Athena had instantly accepted the offer, and after a couple of days they bid they're goodbyes, heading to Camp Jupiter.

Piper loved her boyfriend very much, but sometimes it seemed like he put his work before her. She understood that he had responsibilities to deal with, and she understood that he couldn't be with her every hour of everyday. But lately it seemed like she was putting in more effort into their relationship than he was. The spark that was first there seemed to being fading. She sighed in frustration, putting a hand on her forehead.

Percy, seemingly reading her thoughts, turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder in understanding. If anybody could understand what she was feeling, it was someone who was dating child of Athena. Especially someone as committed to her work as Annabeth. Percy had come to her more than once about his own relationship problems.

Piper and Percy had been working together a lot lately. Ever since the war ended, both of their partners had been busy traveling between camps, and in Annabeth's case, Olympus. There was much work to be done, and everyday that passed, they seemed to be around less.

In order to fill that gap, she and Percy decided to spend more time together. At first, it was a little bit awkward for them to be around each other because they were constantly comparing each other to their significant other. But as time went on, and the less they saw of their partners, they both seemed to gain a serious appreciation for the other. Nowadays you could barely separate the two. Where one was, the other was usually right behind.

They became each other's shoulder to lean on, and the person they went to whenever they had a fight with their blond(e) partners. Piper would be lying if she said she hadn't thought of Percy in _that way_ , and Piper would be willing to bet Percy had thought about her in _that way_. He made it so painfully obvious sometimes. But they never acted on those feelings since they were already in relationships.

"Keep an eye out for the kids," Percy said, breaking Piper out of her thoughts.

It wasn't long until she spotted the two kids that they were targeting. Both were laughing, seemingly without a care in the world. She and Percy quickly exited the van and followed the kids, albeit at a safe distance in order to not seem suspicious. They followed them down the sidewalk and through a park, making Piper feel like a major stalker.

Piper felt a shiver go through her body, and immediately regretted not grabbing a jacket before leaving. The cold wind nipped at her exposed skin, making it even more uncomfortable for her. Percy glanced at her and smiled. He took off his black hoodie off, leaving him in his Camp t-shirt, and held out his jacket for her to take.

She gratefully accepted, slipping it over her own camp shirt. She was instantly filled with warmth and a pleasant snell of the ocean. Piper smiled, and was about to thank him, but the kids they are following turned left, into the woods. Glancing at each other, Percy and Piper quickly walked after, deciding it must've been some sort of short cut.

After a few minutes of wandering around the woods they found the pair, but they seemed to be frozen in place, as if they were listening for something. Percy was about to call out to them, but Piper put a hand over his mouth, forcing him to shut up. Percy glared at her and bit down on her hand, causing her to yelp in pain. The siblings heads snapped towards them and Piper hit Percy in the chest for blowing their cover.

" _Who are you?"_

Piper was about to respond, but a low growl interrupted her. Immediately she and Percy were on guard looking for the source. Piper put a hand on the hilt of her dagger, and she could see Percy reach into his pocket. The slowly made their way towards the kids, who, judging by the scared look on their faces, must've heard the growling also.

Hellhounds leapt out from the shadows of the forest as soon as they reached the two kids. About four in all stalked towards the demigods. Percy uncapped Riptide, as Piper unsheathed her dagger, Katoptris. She heard the siblings behind them gasp in astonishment at the sight in front of them.

"Piper, get the kids to safety. I'll hold them off."

Piper looked at him like he was crazy. "You must be crazy if you think I'm leaving you to fight four of these things. I'm staying to fight."

The lead hellhound pounced and the four of them were forced to dodge. "This is not up four debate McLean. Get them to safety. _Now_." Percy told her as he charged toward the leader.

Piper growled in frustration at the stubborn son of Poseidon, but one look at the faces of the siblings told her Percy was right. She immediately dashed towards them, grabbing their hands and making a run for the van.

"This is so cool," Both Piper, and the boy's sister glared at him. "I mean so _not_ cool."

Piper nodded at his correction.

They was so close to the end of the woods that she could hear the sounds of kids playing in the park. That's when she heard the growls. Piper groaned at her luck, quickly turning to the kids.

"Keep running until you see a white van with the words Camp Half-Blood written on it. The doors are unlocked and you should be safe in there."

The girl raised an eyebrow at her. "We just met. Why should we trust _you?_ "

The hellhound chose that moment to pounce. Piper pushed the kids out of the way and sidestepped to the right, jamming her dagger into its side. The hellhound gave out a cry of pain before disintegrating into gold dust.

Piper turned to the siblings, eyebrow cocked. They both gulped and saluted her before turning around and making a run for it. Piper chuckled at the sight before turning serious at the sound of the other two hellhounds. Of course they decided to come after her.

The first charged, paws raised and Piper barely had time to duck as the beast slashed down. Unfortunately, one of the claws had managed to tear into Percy's hoodie, scraping her arm. She cried out in pain as blood ran down her arm. She glared at the beast before charging. She slid under the belly of the beast, stabbing it in its stomach. She closed her eyes in disgust as monster dust sprayed down on her. The second hellhound leapt while she was down, trying to crush her. Piper rolled over to avoid the beast and got up to stab, but the beast leapt back, avoiding her dagger.

It charged with crazy speed, catching Piper by surprise. She stumbled back and tripped over her own feet, losing her dagger on the way down. The monster pounced, not giving Piper the chance to charmspeak. She closed her eyes in anticipation, hoping for a quick painless death. She vaguely heard Percy shout her name, but she knew he was too far away to help.

After fifteen seconds with her eyes closed, she wondered why she wasn't dead yet. She slowly opened them to see the hellhound, standing up on two legs, whimpering in pain. It seemed to be struggling against some kind of invisible force. Piper wasted no time scrambling to her feet, picking up her dagger, and looking around to see what was causing the beast to act so strangely.

She found her answer looking at Percy. His eyes were glowing an intense dark green color, and his hands were outstretched towards the hellhound. But what worried Piper the most was his face. Sweat was dripping down his face from the effort, but he was smirking. Smirking at the pain he was causing the hellhound. He let out a laugh as he slowly walked forward. The hellhound was now howling in pain, trying its best to break free, and Piper actually felt sorry for it. She didn't know what to do. Percy kept walking forward, and with every twitch of his hand, the hound let loose a anguished howl.

Piper was _terrified_.

"Percy," She called out in a shaky voice. "You have to _stop_. Whatever is possessing you to do this, you have to fight it. This isn't you. _P_ _lease._ _"_

Piper didn't trust her voice enough to use charmspeak, but it didn't seem she had too. Percy's eyes widened in shock, seeming to realize what he did. He dropped his arms, and instantly the hellhound slumped to the ground. It started to crawl back to the forest, whimpering to itself. Piper decided to let it go, knowing it was no longer a threat.

Piper looked over at Percy. His hands were on his knees, trying to regain his breath. After a minute, he slowly walked her way, keeping his head down. He looked up and caught sight of her injury, eyes widening slightly. He reached his hand out, trying to assess the wound better, but Piper jerked away from him and glared into his eyes. His face instantly showed heartbreak at her actions, and she almost felt bad for it.

He dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a square of ambrosia handing it to her. She hesitantly took it out of his hands and ate it. Instantly, the pain in her arm subsided, and she could feel the injury start to heal. Percy began to speak, but Piper held her hand up for silence. His eyes hardened, and he quickly turned his back on her, walking to the van.

The ride back to the camp was long and tense.

The only time she opened her mouth was to asks the kids their names. Emily and Thomas seemed to sense the tension in the van because neither of them said a word the whole way. Percy had the steering wheel in a death grip, eyes staring straight ahead at the road. Piper felt her own eyes sting as she tried to hold back tears.

As soon as they pulled up, Piper told the siblings to go wait at the top of the hill. They immediately jumped out of the van, seeming to know an argument was about to happen. Piper was still sick to her stomach at the thought of what Percy did. The way that he controlled the hellhound was still fresh in her mind.

"Percy… _what was that_?"

Percy was glaring down at his hands. "You're life was in danger."

"My life is always in danger, Percy," Piper glared at him. "That doesn't give you that right to do… whatever is you did."

"You think I was just going to sit there and watch you _die?_ " Percy asked, raising his voice. "I had to do something."

"Percy, you could've gone about that situation other ways. But you let your anger control you. You became a different person out there. What you was _sadistic_."

"Well how about next time, I just let you _die_." Percy snapped.

Piper tried to ignore how much his words hurt. Instead, she glared daggers at him, before getting out of the passenger seat and slamming the door shut. About halfway up the hill she heard Percy slam his door before making his way up the hill. Thomas and Emily were waiting for them both at the top of the hill. Both must've seen the look of anger on Piper's face, because neither of them said a word.

She led them to the big house, where Chiron, in his wheel chair, was waiting for them. He greeted the siblings with a smile, welcoming them to Camp Half-Blood. He was about to continue, but he saw the looks that she and Percy were giving, and frowned.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

Neither of them answered, but Thomas decided to give his thoughts.

"I think they broke up or something," Everybody, save for Chiron, glared at him. "What? That's not right?"

If Emily hadn't hit him, Piper would've.

Chiron sighed before calling the nearest camper. Jake Mason strolled over, asking what the problem was.

"I need you to take Emily and Thomas here and give them the basics and a tour of camp," Chiron said.

Jake looked like he wanted to object, but one glance at her and Percy changed his mind. He sighed, grabbing the siblings by the hands, and walked away.

Chiron turned his gaze on them. "Either of you want to tell me what happened?"

Piper shook her head no, and Percy stayed silent.

"I figured you wouldn't," Chiron sighed. "If either of you wish to talk you know where to find me. You both can have the rest of the day off."

As soon as he finished, Percy turned and quickly walked toward the cabins. Piper was about to walk to her own cabin when she felt Chiron's hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever happened between you two, I need you to work it out," Chiron said. "Right now you two are the leaders of this camp. You're setting bad examples for young campers like Emily and Thomas. I'm sure that's not what you want, right?"

Piper nodded her head in understanding. She needed to make things right with Percy. Turning around, she walked towards her cabin to rest.

The rest of her day was uneventful. She only left the comfort of her bed to change. She still had Percy's jacket on, which was ripped and covered in a combination of monster blood, her own dried blood, and dirt. She threw the jacket in the trash, seeing as it was useless now. She took a quick shower, throwing on a regular camp T-shirt with some basketball shorts. The clock on the wall read six o'clock, and she decided she could use a quick nap.

The sound of the conch shell awoke her. She stumbled out of bed, sleepily walking towards the dinning Pavilion, By the time she got there, her siblings were already eating. She wasn't particularly hungry, so she ended up sacrificing a good portion of her meal. Her siblings noticed that she seemed to be in a bad mood and left her alone for the night. Even Drew didn't try anything tonight.

She had caught Percy's eye near the end of dinner. He appeared to mirror her appearance. Dull eyes, messy hair, basketball shorts. The only difference was that he was wearing a dark blue jacket now. Obviously, the day had affected him as much as it did her.

They had a silent conversation with each other, deciding to meet after dinner, and about five minutes later campers started to file out table by table, heading to the campfire.

She made the excuse that she wasn't feeling well, and that she was going to call it a night. Some gave her a questioning look, but otherwise seemed to buy it, and headed to the campfire. She looked over to the Poseidon table to see Percy standing up, motioning for her to follow. She sighed, getting up from her own table and following.

Piper once again was regretting not wearing a jacket. The night wind air was even colder than earlier. She blew into her hands, rubbing them together, trying her best to stay warm. She saw Percy looking at her, with an amused expression. He slowly took off his dark blue hoodie, trying to hand it to her. Piper hesitated for a moment before accepting. She put it on, and once again felt the warmth it provided. She sighed in satisfaction at the smell of a warm sea breeze.

Percy led her back to his cabin but didn't go inside. Instead, he leaned on the cabin wall gazing up at the stars. Piper mimicked his position on the wall, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What happened out there Percy?" She asked.

Percy looked at her with a confused expression on his face. "What are you talking about?"

Piper glared at him. "Don't play dumb, Jackson."

"I saved your life," Percy said, eyes hardening. "That's what happened."

"Percy, you went too far."

"I did what was necessary." He stated simply.

" _Necessary?_ " Pipers eyes flared. "Percy what you did was downright _sadistic_."

"It's just a stupid hellhound, Piper," Percy's eyes held the same fire as hers now. "The worst I could've done was kill it. Only for it to regenerate down in Tartarus. Demigods don't get a second chance."

"You're missing the point Percy," She tried to keep her voice steady. "It's one thing to kill a monster. But you tortured it. It was defeated, but you didn't stop. I don't know how, and I honestly don't want to know how. But you did. And I was terrified, of _you_."

Percy's eyes widened, as she tried to hold back get tears.

"Percy, the look in your _eyes_ … it wasn't you. The way you _laughed_ … it wasn't you. I honestly thought that something had possessed you. That's a side of you I never want to see again."

Piper was crying now, not even bothering to try and hold back the tears. Percy immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She could feel his own tears dropping on top of her head. He kept muttering that he was sorry over and over. They stood there, holding each other, both comforting the other.

"Promise me you'll never do that again." She mumbled against his chest. He took a shaky breath before answering.

"Piper, if you're in danger I'll do _anything_ to get you out. I can't make that promise."

"Please, you have to promise me," Piper said with tears still falling. Her kaleidoscope eyes were begging.

Percy looked at her, and wiped away the tears falling down her eyes. He gave a soft smile before pulling her back into his chest, resting his chin on top of her head.

"I promise.".

Neither one of them said a word after that. They just enjoyed each others warmth and company. She still had a lot of questions for Percy, and she was going to make damn sure he answered then. But for now, she let the quiet be. She and Percy slid to the ground and she wrapped her arms around his torso, sighing in content.

They didn't pull away until they heard the campers return from the campfire. Some looked suspicious, while others glared disapproving at the two. Piper didn't know why they were glaring, but at the moment she really didn't care. Soon they were the last two people out.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Piper told him. She started to remove his hoodie, but Percy's hand grabbing hers stopped her from removing it.

"It's yours."

She smiled at him, mumbling a small thanks. He lead her over to his door before letting her hand go.

"Goodnight, Piper."

Before she lost her courage, she leaned up to kiss his cheek. She let her lips linger a little bit longer than necessary, but he didn't seem to mind. They were both blushing when she pulled back.

"Goodnight, Percy."


End file.
